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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “moving effect”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “moving effect”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 10 of the top 20. 5 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates shows at wp.org #6 but places #18 on merit, a gap of 12 places. Its 20K+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 6 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets places #8 on merit, 4.9★ from 1516 reviews, but shows at wp.org #23. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Premium Addons for Elementor – AI-Ready Elementor Addons, Widgets & Templates 600K+ · 4.9★ (1680) wp.org #1 2 Unlimited Elements for Elementor 300K+ · 4.8★ (525) wp.org #2 ↓1 3 Ultimate Addons for Elementor – Widgets, Templates, WooCommerce & Header Footer Builder 2M+ · 4.9★ (2528) wp.org #7 ↓1 4 too low 4 Depicter — Popup & Slider Builder 70K+ · 4.6★ (235) wp.org #4 ↓1 5 Master Slider – Responsive Touch Slider 60K+ · 4.6★ (504) wp.org #5 ↓3 6 AnWP Post Grid and Post Carousel Slider for Elementor 20K+ · 4.9★ (84) wp.org #9 3 too low 7 Animation Addons – Elementor Addons, GSAP Animations, Elementor V4 Atomic Widgets & Elementor Templates 10K+ · 4.6★ (66) wp.org #8 ↓3 1 too low 8 Widget Options – Advanced Conditional Visibility for Gutenberg Blocks & Classic Widgets 100K+ · 4.9★ (1516) wp.org #23 ↓4 15 too low 9 Otter Blocks – Gutenberg Blocks, Page Builder for Gutenberg Editor & FSE 300K+ · 4.7★ (251) wp.org #16 ↓3 7 too low 10 Parallax Section Block – Add Parallax Scrolling Effects to Sections 3K+ · 4.3★ (6) wp.org #3 7 too high 11 Brizy – Page Builder 60K+ · 4.7★ (972) wp.org #21 ↓4 10 too low 12 Options for Twenty Seventeen 8K+ · 4.8★ (57) wp.org #15 ↓3 3 too low 13 Divi Carousel Lite – Make Carousels for Divi 5 30K+ · 4.8★ (146) wp.org #22 ↓4 9 too low 14 aBlocks – Gutenberg Blocks, User Dashboard Builder, Popup Builder, Form Builder & Animation Builder 2K+ · 5.0★ (26) wp.org #12 ↓3 2 too high 15 Slider Hero with Video Background, Animation 3K+ · 4.8★ (34) wp.org #14 ↓3 1 too high 16 WPKoi Templates for Elementor 5K+ · 4.6★ (19) wp.org #11 ↓3 5 too high 17 GutSlider – All in One Slider and Carousel Blocks for Gutenberg 6K+ · 4.9★ (14) wp.org #13 ↓3 4 too high 18 Marquee Addons for Elementor – Essential Motion Widgets & Templates 20K+ · 5.0★ (6) wp.org #6 ↓2 12 too high 19 Super block slider – Image/video background & content slider 8K+ · 5.0★ (14) wp.org #17 ↓3 2 too high 20 Image Ticker Carousel | by Creavi 500+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #18 ↑2 2 too high 21 CM Pop-Up – Create engaging popups to capture attention and boost interaction 8K+ · 3.4★ (13) wp.org #20 ↓4 1 too high 22 Smooth Custom Cursor 300+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↓3 12 too high 23 UltraAddons for Elementor 600+ · 4.5★ (4) wp.org #19 ↓4 4 too high 24 Unlimited Elements Blocks Library 500+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #24 ↓2

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.